here's a look at hot shots at a mosque in pakistan, muslim man stand for a special prayer during the holy month of ramadan. in australia, members of the airborne combat team parachute out of a plane during an exercise. in china, fireworks filled the sky to mark the 30th anniversary of reforms that accelerated economic growth. and in india, check it out, a peacock, which is also india's national bird, displays its colorful feathers. hot shots, pictures worth a thousand words. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." "john king usa" starts right now. >> thanks, wolf. good evening, everyone. from pittsburgh, we're on the road this labor day and in one of the biggest battlegrounds in this midterm election here. president obama won this state handily two years ago but republicans are leading at the moment in the races for governor, senate and this state is also critical to republican hopes of seizing control of the house of representatives. we will show you tonight up close why at the moment

republicans are so confident and what democrats and their allies here are trying to do to limit the damage. one of those allies is organized labor which today staged its annual labor day parade and in the week ahead, begins a multimillion-dollar effort to keep union households in the democratic column. but first the national picture and fresh evidence tonight of the republican tide and a feisty labor day counter attack from president obama. new cnn polling gives republicans a seven-point edge when voters asked which party they will support for congress this year. the white house knows a gap that big would mean a disastrous election day so president obama turned it up a notch today as he attended a labor day rally in wisconsin and pushed a new $50 billion plan to create jobs by funding major construction projects. >> today i am announcing a new plan for rebuilding and modernizing america's roads and rails and runways for the long-term. this will not only create jobs

immediately, it's also going to make our economy hum over the long haul. >> and the president, can he help democrats rebound over the next 57 days or is he part of the problem? pennsylvania governor ed rendell has been pushing the white house for months to spend more on roads and bridges. also here with us tonight, national political correspondent jessica yellin, and our senior congressional correspondent dana bash. governor, i want to start with you. you have been pushing the president for a long time saying this is the way to create jobs immediately. he announced this plan today but they don't have the votes in congress to pass it. so this is more symbolism, more in your face than real job creation, isn't it in. >> i'm not sure, john, that the votes aren't there to pass infrastructure. senator inhofe and barbara boxer tried to triple the amount of spending in the original stimulus. infrastructure sort of goes across party lines. do i expect anything is going to get done in the fwhoex months? no, because the republicans don't want the economy to improve. that's a fact, and you could debate that as long as you want

but it's a fact. they don't want to do anything that will make the economy improve now. that's why they've held up on the small business bill. they've talked about small business over and over again, let's help small business. we have a chance if we pass that bill, which is fully paid for, we have a chance to put $30 billion into lending for small business, and they won't do it. why? because they don't want the economy to pick up until after the election. it's disgraceful. >> i want to bring jessica and dana into the conversation. the president was loose today, he was feisty today, he was passionate today, and at a time the democrats are worried that especially white blue collar labor union members might go and vote republican like they did for ronald reagan, the so-called reagan democrats like many did in the 1994 republican sweep the president tried to make a direct personal commitment, saying many of the things the republicans would do if they win would threaten gains brought about by union workers. listen. >> it was the labor movement

that helped secure so much of what we take for granted today. the 40-hour work week, the minimum wage, the family leave, health insurance, social security, medicare, retirement plans, the cornerstones of the middle class security all bear the union label! >> so i guess the first question, jess, is where has that guy been? >> that's the guy who won this election and that's what a lot of democrats are asking right now. i was talking to some folks at this labor parade today who said yes, they're democrats but deeply frustrated, one in particular, the white house has been unable to communicate what they've accomplished and that's a failure of leadership to put it simply. it's what we say but folks are really feeling it out here. >> as soon as the president was done speaking i got "hallelujah" e-mails from democrats in washington trying to get their fellow democrats reelected in congress.

that's been a major complaint among them, where has this guy been? we need him to focus every single day in a passionate, passion aipt w passionate way about the economy and more specifically, he talked about being kicked like a dog but kick the republicans from the perspective the the democrats. >> governor i was down into the labor day marching, i ran into guys i have known for 20 years, and they've been here because of past experience, and they don't want obama here n this part of the state they think he's unpopular and really worried. they said send in bill clinton, michelle obama, and i looked at polling from, i can't name them but trust the polling numbers, i looked at it, 33% of union households right now say they're going to vote republican for congress. if that happens, what happens on election day? >> we'd lose, but i think it's more than that, john. i think that jessica's right about turning up the heat. because if you look at the polls in pennsylvania, we're behind in both the senate and governor's

race among likely voters but among all registered voters it's about dead even. we have to get our base out. we still have 1.3 million more democrats than republicans. we've got to get our base out and got to get the base excited. you get them excited two ways, talking about things we've accomplished, talking about our heritage and then talking about the whackos on the other side. our people should be scared to death, the wackos are taking over the republican party, want to get rid of the 14at mendment, want to do away with unemployment compensation, don't think the president was born in the u.s., they're nuts. >> but the problem for, as you well know because you know the state's politics better than anybody is are the republican candidates that are challenging the democrats who aren't, your words into the mine, fruit loops, but work well in the districts and giving the democrats the race of their lives. >> but statewide, tom corbett

tacked way to the right. he was the only midwestern attorney general to join -- >> obama carried handily, swept, you've been the governor for eight years, a democrat, and republican attorney general, running for governor who felt he could join that suit challenging the obama health care plan. he must sense a big change. >> i think it was a big mistake. elections statewide, not the congressional gloria, jessica was talking about. >> dana. >> there's so many of us, don't worry about it. >> i saw gloria in the trailer. it's different but statewide elections are won right now in southeast pennsylvania, that's where the population center is. we've been killing the republicans in the pennsylvania, in the philadelphia suburbs which traditionally have been republican. tom corbett is making a mistake tacking to the right, because he's making himself vulnerable in the places where elections are won or lost. >> i just want to ask why is it

that your base is so unexcited. you make the case there's whack jobs on the other side and you used the word fruit loops. >> they're whacky also. >> pick your word. what can do you? >> dana said it very well, communication failure, no question. the white house, the best communicators during a campaign i've ever seen in all my 33 years in politics they haven't communicated well. the health care bill is a good bill for average pennsylvanians. for small businesses. 125,000 small businesses with 25 employees or less, john n pennsylvania, are eligible for a 35% tax credit. i don't think 10% of them know it. how many people do you think know that they got a tax cut, if they earned less than $200,000, they got an $800 tax cut, their families in the stimulus program. i don't think 5 out of 1,000 know that. we didn't communicate the things we've done well, that's number one. number two, we're a little too

cool. we have to fight back and let people know that the other side is nuts. >> the governor is going to stay with us but we'll take a break. when we come back, gloria borger will join the conversation and we'll get the names straight, i promise. but first a quick look using my friend the magic wall at why this state is so crucial. ♪ pennsylvania always a big important industrial state in our national politics and a critically important state this year, and the economy is the reason republicans at the moment are so optimistic about making gains. look at this, manufacturing jobs in the obama administration, 2009 to 2010, down. blue collar construction jobs the obama administration from january 2009 to now, down. modest gains in hospitality and leisure industries but the economy for the most part in pennsylvania struggling a bit and that has republicans optimistic, optimistic they can carry the state's big senate race, democrat joe sestak currently trails, toomey in the.

ed rendell term limited, tom corbett running ahealed as we enter the final weeks of that contest as well and pennsylvania is critical. if republicans. get the 39 seats they need to take control of the house of representatives they need some pickups in the state of pennsylvania, jason altmire, patrick murphy and mark critz, if the obama white house had to pick one race to watch most closely it would be the murphy race, let me show you why. murphy's district is here in the philadelphia suburbs, right down in this area. it is a part of state murphy district down here, the blue collar area is from scranton a lento llentown, reading, obama carried these areas comfortable in 2008. the last time a republican won pennsylvania for president was 1988. george h.w. bush did that, look at that, remember the areas again, all of the blue collar

areas, the critical philadelphia suburbs. george h.w. bush carried them by saying michael dukakis was too liberal. that was 2008, the key challenge in 2010, can democrats hold the areas that are critical, to their chances statewide it will be critical to obama's re-election chances or they make a case a democratic president and a democratic congress a bit too liberal. we speak value. and people like what we're saying. about how fusion is projected to hold its resale value better than camry. and has better quality than accord. as a matter of fact, people like what we're saying so much, ford fusion is now the 2010 motor trend car of the year. the fusion, from ford.

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get ready we're going off to the races. >> do you want an early clue on election night whether the republicans are going to take over congress, keep your eye on key races in the state of pennsylvania. with a heads up on what to watch, senior congressional correspondent, dana bash, jessica yellin and joining us senior political analyst gloria borger. let's start in the east in the philadelphia suburbs. you heard governor ed rendell talking about that.

you have a rematch of a race four years ago. mike fitzpatrick was a member of congress, he was beaten four years ago by patrick murphy, iraq war veteran. the republican fits practice patrick wants his seat back n the philadelphia suburbs where barack obama won big listen to mike fitzpatrick slapping the democratic incumbent. >> four years ago, patrick murphy had no record to run on. we no legislative record, and this time he has a record and the record is not good. it's a record of voting for obamacare, it's a record of voting for stimulus, creating no jobs, it's a record for voting for the bank bailouts, the t.a.r.p. program. he voted with nancy pelosi 97% of the time, and that is not the value and the ethic of this district. >> the textbook republican case right there trying to tie the incumbent to the liberal house speaker nancy pelosi saying he votes with the obama white house all the time. that's the national republican strategy on exhibit right there in the pennsylvania, the philadelphia suburbs. now listen to the incumbent patrick murphy.

guess what? when fitzpatrick was in congress george w. bush was president. maybe you've heard this before. >> people are hurting out there, i mean people are looking for work, our economy, you know, the bush administration and mike fitzpatrick ran it into a ditch and we're trying to make sure we try and grow jobs. i'm door knocking every single night and people are worried about making their mortgage payments and putting food on the table, and part of the things that we need to start doing is making things in our country again, and we were hamstrung because guys like mike fitzpatrick frankly voted for a bad trade deal. >> if on election night number one this is a textbook national battle, the ditch the bush people put us in, the pelosi/obama health care plan. patrick murphy if you see on election night the moderate philadelphia suburbs has gone republican, then you're probably going to have a wave. >> it certainly seems that way. this is a race that democratic sources say they really weren't worried about like six months ago but they have worried big time now, internal democratic

polls show it neck and neck. patrick murphy only won in the original match, now a grudge match by more than 1,500 votes, not very many votes, in a huge democratic year, so it's certainly something to watch and just one other interesting note we talk about the changing of voter registration in this state, in that district the reason i wanted to go there is because back in 2006, when the democrat won, it was up 27,000 for republicans, now since barack obama registered so many democrat it's majority democrat and they're still worried because of the enthusiasm, what we were talking about before. >> i want to get to a race on the western end of the state, this end, but before that let's talk about this dynamic. in the philly suburbs democratic registration went up some. look at the numbers in our new poll. if you're a democrat and see the numbers it has to give you palpitations. independents, independent voters how do you plan on voting for congress this november? 62%, 62% of independents say they plan to vote republican.

that's up from 46% just a month ago. look at those numbers. that is stunning. if those numbers hold then nancy pelosi is no longer the speaker of the house come january. >> absolutely, and that's why you see every democrat saying i'm independent. i'm independent. yes, barack obama is the democratic president, but yes, i am my own person. i've separated myself from barack obama, and they want to make this to a choice not about barack obama, not a referendum on barack obama bwhich it looks like this election is going to be but rather an election on individual races and they say okay, vote for me, the person, not for barack obama the president. i'm up for election. he's not. >> and out here in the western part of the state, jess, you were in the district, jason altmire is the democratic incumbent. he's not afraid to say where he voted against the obama white house, voted against speaker pelosi and not afraid and you'll

hear him here to criticize his own party for saying guess what sfwh i ? it's not communicating to voters about the issue they care most about. >> too many people in congress vote the party line. >> jason altmire is not like that. >> jason is independent no doubt about it. >> you saw it when he voted against health care. >> when he opposed the wall street bailout. >> he's not afraid to stand up to the president. >> and nancy pelosi. >> now that's an altmire ad there. here is his opponent, he says you're going to try to tell that to the voters i'm going to try to convince them that's true. >> he votes with nancy pelosi almost 90% of the time, that's not middle of the road. it's my job to educate the voters about his instinct to consistently vote for big government, big spending. >> now i talked to a republican today at the parade who said he thinks democrat jason altmire is okay but that f that goes we

have a tidal wave. >> tidal wave absolutely. what's interesting is jason altmire seems to think he's doing okay, too, internal polling shows him way up only because in their view they are running this campaign basically against his own party and tells us a lot about where the democrats are right now. he's one of those guys, this was a district that went for john mccain in the 2008 election. he was elected in 2006 in that big wave where democrats came in and there were a lot of democrats who were really in the middle, and it's this big tent party having a hard time gathering everybody together and a lot of democrats here feel and altmire among them that the party has not given them a message and the party is not only, he said made missteps in his words, he said key missteps he voted no on health care, proud of it he says but they need some sort of organizing theme they're not getting. >> he's not going to have barack obama into the district any time soon. let's just say. >> is there any sour feelings about that or is it like, you know what? say whatever you have to do if

you can win. >> say whatever you have to do if you can win, but just talking to democratic strapt gists nationally, they say that just in terms of the kumbaya inside, the people who maybe pick up the phone quietly and call nancy pelosi or hear people and say hey i'm sorry but for my district i have to do this, to keep you speaker i have to do this, they're probably better off down the road if they keep their seat. one other thing which is interesting to show the juxtaposition, jason altmire has since the beginning since he's been in congress voted against the democrats. he's prepared for this moment. someone like patrick murphy who i was with in suburban philadelphia, he may say he voted his district but certainly has been voting on the big obama agenda items with the president, and with the democratic leaders. it's hard for him to separate himself. >> i was talking to a woman at the parade today who is a democrat and she said look i'm a democrat. i support democrats, but you know what? i'm really worried about health care reform, i'm worried we've

got too much big government so even you have somebody who is a committed democrat, labor person saying you know what? i think maybe we in the democratic party made a big mistake and turned a lot of our friends against us. >> so everybody, that makes a key point there, talk to people at pat raid, raises the question who is going to vote in 57 days, turnout will matter. what message are voters in this state sending and we'll also discuss the obama factor. how many candidates will welcome the president? how many will stay away? and pete on the street tonight, he's got some questions for guess who, that would be me. [ male announcer ] some prescription drugs may lead to constipation. fortunately, there's senokot-s tablets. senokot-s for occasional constipation associated with certain medications. find the relief that's right for you and get a $10 rebate at getconstipationrelief.com. this is power with efficiency.

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welcome back and hello again from pittsburgh. let's check in with brianna keilar for the latest news you need to know now. >> hey there, john. the season's latest tropical storm hermine is about to make landfall in northern mexico near the border with texas. general david petraeus says a florida church's plan to burn korans to mark the anniversary of 9/11 could endanger u.s. troops in afghanistan. the new statement from president obama says the nation "owes a debt of gratitude to jefferson thomas." he was one of nine students to brave mobs to desegregate little rock's high school in 1957. he died of cancer at age 67, a brave man, john. >> a brave man indeed, heroic man, one of the legendary people in our civil rights movement. when we come back, live from pittsburgh again with this big question, is there anything the democrats can do with 57 days to

go to turn the political tide? the governor of this state and a veteran republican strategist who knows it well. ed rendell when we come back.

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obama? >> i do find a lot of that. >> you didn't vote for snim. >> i didn't vote for him but obviously am a very big republican and would never vote democrat. >> that's one of the many conversations we've had today that are proof to us at least at the moment 57 days out the intensity is on the republican side here in pennsylvania. again, 57 days to the midterm election, and the democrats are way past the point of seeing storm clouds on the horizon. right now it's more like funnel clouds are filling the sky and warning sirens are going off, a bit of hyperbole. i'm joined by john braybender and governor ed rendell. the woman there in the diner i was talking to this morning is a republican, she voted for john mccain, didn't love him but a good republican. a lot of her blue collar friends who voted for obama think the party went too far to the left. i want you to listen to the president, a lot of democrats, you among them governor rendell say he has to make a better case to the american people, stronger economic message.

this is the president taking issue with the other side, you might say. >> over the last two years that's meant taking on some powerful interests, some powerful interests who had been dominating the agenda in washington for a very long time and they're not always happy with me. they talk about me like a dog. that's not in my prepared remarks, it's just -- but it's true. >> now i've been trying, i've been e-mailing, placed a couple of calls and one guy at the white house told me don't make too much of that. the other one, i don't know. bill clinton used to say i'll be with you until the last dog dies. governor can you translate? >> i think the president feels put upon, and he's accomplished a lot and so do i. if you read the "time" magazine about stimulus it blows the roof off of the people who say the stimulus hasn't accomplished anything. he feels sort of unloved.

i can understand it, but in politics we have an expression, never let them see you sweat, never let you see them complain. it's our business, we're supposed to be treated like dogs, right, john in this guy treats us like dogs. >> that's my paid job. this was not a labor day speech. that's ridiculous. this was an infomercial, a political infomercial and frankly, i think that it was historic in the sense not only did he use this term but put more blame on the predecessor saying this economic fiasco is not his fault, on the same talking points that the republicans put us into a ditch. well we're now spiraling down into some river or something compared to where the republicans put us. he said he didn't have anything to do with the bailouts which he did. basically when he came out and said none of this is my fault and don't vote for the republicans, it's ridiculous. >> with 57 days left for two guys who know the nuts and bolts politics of this state as well as anyone, what can the democrats do? down at the parade a guy you know, the allegheny labor fed

chief jack shea was down there, if the election were tomorrow we'd lose big. i seen polling a third of union households plan on voting republican for congress, in 1980 we got the reagan democrats, 1994 a lot of the blue collar voters went the other way. jack shea is convinced they started their program this week, tomorrow, convinced with a lot of contact they can turn it around if i'm one of your guys between now and election day how many times am i going to hear from you and in how many ways? >> between 8 and 12 times, you're going to hear from me by phone, i'm knocking on your door, going to visit you at your work sites, you're going to be hearing from your local union, and we'll revisit you and make sure we'll get out the vote, most important thing this election is gotv, getting out the vote. >> do you think they can do that? you know rick santorum won with a lot of blue collar votes, bob

casey has the democrat blue collar votes. >> they don't have a story to tell. unemployment is high. spending under our governor here went up 40 some percent since he was governor, taxes -- >> that's the dog part there. >> i know. >> people are very worried, tired of the bailouts, the high taxes. there's not a single democrat in this entire country who is running ads saying they voted for obamacare. everything they're trying to say is a success people think is a failure. even the president's hometown newspaper today came out with a poll that showed that almost half of illinois citizens don't think he's doing a very good job. >> you used to be the national party chairman. does that surprise you no democrats are putting out ads. >> it doesn't surprise. we've lost the communications battle. stimulus we lost the communications battle in the first two weeks and nothing we can do can change people's minds which is a shame, because the

cbo, nonpartisan congressional budget office said the stimulus has kept the unemployment rate from somewhere between 1% and 2% additional unemployment. that's the cbo john. you quote the cbo all the time so don't give me any bull about the cbo. >> see what i call the stimulus a success? are you ready to call it a success? >> i think it has retained jobs and created jobs. it should have been more infrastructure because infrastructure, i can show you places in pittsburgh, people are working today solely on stimulus-funded dollars, those are good construction jobs that can't be outsourced and stimulus worked. we've done a lousy job persuading. what jack shea has to do is not just tell people to vote democratic, give them the talking points. i disagree with john who i think is among the best especially at treating us like dogs but i disagree with john. i think there is a story to tell, there is a story to tell. >> governor there's a reason why independents and democrats are saying they're voting republican, they don't like what they say. they don't like it in pennsylvania, they don't like it

in ohio, they don't like it in michigan. >> two months out. >> two of the most feisty guys in politics. 57 days to the election, some democrats as you're hearing are running away from the president, others say get more feisty, mr. president. they saw that today.

♪ great scenes there of the labor day parade here in pittsburgh, a great blue collar city. you see a lot of marching bands and a lot of labor movement, the united steelworkers headquarters, the building

behind you there, wonderful scene on the streets of pittsburgh, the teachers aunion, important turnout force for democrats in this election campaign. there are candidates here in pittsburgh, the president was out in wisconsin, and when the president was in wisconsin today, one prominent democrat, well, was nowhere to be seen, still president obama went out of his way to embrace senator russ feingold and attribute his absence to a scheduling conflict. >> i know the other great senator, russ feingold was here earlier standing with you and your families just like he always has. now he's in his hometown to participate in their labor day parade so it is good to be back. >> so scheduling conflicts, governor rendell, how many scheduling conflicts are we going to see in the next 57 days when the president rolls through town? you used to be the party chairman, you're the governor. your popularity suffered but -- >> just because you're democratic candidate --

>> these are the cards you're dealt. he's the democratic party. this is his record. it's the first midterm so it's a referendum on him. that's how it goes. it always is so. >> interestingly, it certainly divides between congressional races and statewide races. in statewide races the president in pennsylvania is going to be very helpful in the southeast in philadelphia and driving out that vote, where he's still popular, and where people still care very much about him and where he can deliver that message. statewide i think he's a plus you put him in certain areas. >> i bet you a buck when he's campaigning for joe sestak in the senate race that congressman murphy has one of those scheduling conflict things. >> possible. although i would, i haven't polled congressman murphy's district but i don't think president obama's numbers are that bad in congressman murphy's district. it depends. it's basically breaks down regional. but if we see the president obama who we saw today feisty, tough, fighting back, making the

case fairly or unfairly, making the case, i think people are going to warm to that. you can turn elections around in 60 days no, question. >> let's hear some of that feisty president obama. he was out in wisconsin at that labor day rally and he was doing what governor rendell wanted him to do for a long time saying, let's talk about the other guys, they only know one word and it's no. >> almost every republican in congress says no, even on things we usually agree on, they say no. if i said the sky was blue, they say no. if i said fish live in the sea, they'd say no. they just think it's better to score political points before an election, and that solves

problems. >> what if he said the steelers play in pittsburgh? >> whose side are you on? you got the governor already. >> no, i'm just trying -- >> republicans and independents and people all over the country are saying no. we tried it their way, it didn't work. no to the bailouts, no to the tax increases, the president gave us a stimulus, $787 billion stimulus that failed. no more to that again, now that he wants to do the stimulus light and try round two, and frankly no more to this deficit. i agree, republicans were responsible for the deficit in the past, but the budget that the president gave us this year puts a record deficit. no more to those. they should first do no harm and they want to call us the party of no, that's fine. this is what we're against. >> john, as i remember the bailout started under president bush and hank paulson. president obama's given every working family an $800 tax cut under the stimulus plan, and the perfect example of saying no to

something that the country needs is the small business bill, john. the small business bill is disgraceful they won't come back and pass that. >> governor, let's be honest the disagreement is how you pay for it. >> doesn't matter. it doesn't matter, small business needs that money, john. it's paid for. >> small business is for the republicans more than the democrats. >> you have to compromise, we have to get something done in this country or we're going to go to hell in a handbasket. >> tactically, everyone is on recess home for august. if you think it's reprehensible the republicans won't vote on the bill, harry reid call back a session and every day make them vote no. >> that's how we passed the bill that extended the bill for firemen and teachers. thank god for olympia snowand susan collins we were able to get over the filibuster. let's get money into the hands of small business, compromise, john, compromise. don't just say no. >> compromise, there's no compromise on the health care.

>> do you have any worries, his numbers are down largely because of the economy and what you think are some mistakes but do you have any worries that republicans might understatement, guy is a pretty good politician. >> president obama is one of the best people i've ever seen at reading a teleprompter, all right, he is great on the campaign trail. the problem is, every policy or major policy he's had has failed to some extent, even obamacare the majority of americans say they want to repeal it, they understand that we took the greatest health care system in the world and instead of the democrats compromising and solving the problems of health care, we just overhauled the whole thing and frankly people think we've possibly destroyed it. >> two feisty guys here i'll call a time-out and we'll continue the conversation. we will see you again, this is a great state, fascinating laboratory. when we come back, our reporter also come back to empty their notebooks, they've been testing voter attitude out there and voter energy out there. who is going to vote on election day, when we come back, and stay with us on the road this week, we're off to ohio tomorrow, another big huge industrial

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welcome back, everybody. it is a spectacular evening in pittsburgh in western pennsylvania. let's check in with brianna keilar for the latest political news you need to know. >> even though louisiana governor bobby jindal passed up a recent chance to endorse his state's republican senator david vitter his staff tells cnn "maybe later." a rare interview in the u.s. senate race in nevada, republican candidate sharron angle tells "i'll be a mainstream senator. ". a south carolina social

studies teacher will launch a write-in campaign for the u.s. senate seat and vice president joe biden is appearing on "the colbert report" this wednesday, john. >> do you think he'll say "nation"? >> i think he will and if he's appearing on wednesday that gives you something to put on your show on thursday. thursday. >> there you go. there you go. a funny moment from the vice president. >> no doubt. >> let's hope he comes up with this one. thanks. who votes in 57 days? it's a cliche. it happens to be true. talk it over. the reporters are talking to voters. dana bash, jessica yellin, gloria borger with us here. one of the big questions is can the obama coalition be put back together for the election? a key constituency were younger voters and you ran into jamie. she was very excited about president obama.

she voted for him and very many college students if 2008. is she excited about 2010 and the congressional election, midterms? not so much. >> reporter: are you going to vote in this congressional election? >> i probably won't. just because i don't really know what's going on. i don't think i've talked to anybody this year who's interested in the congressional election. >> so, she's probably not going to vote and she says none of her friends are interested in that. if younger people don't turn out, that's one strike against the democrats. >> absolutely. i mean, that was very telling to me because the beginning of the conversation she was talking about how excited she was and how active she was two years ago for the president and for barack obama and look, the bottom line is she is not interested now. she is disillusioned because she thinks issues don't pertain to her but she is also disillusioned thinking that promises were made and not kept so that is why you're hearing

democrats say that they are going to do things differently but i think it's important to point out not just democrats but republicans also understand their brand has not been rehabilitated yet either so republicans saying we're independent, as well, just like democrats are. >> there's a statewide poll here in pennsylvania that says that one third of the voters who voted for barack obama, only one third of them, will turn out for this election. which is terrible for democratic candidates and the question that i have is, why hasn't this president and this white house been able to take the message to their voters about the high stakes in this election? >> right. >> you would think they were so good in the campaign that they might be able to do it in the midterm which is so important for them and their agenda. >> i get the sense that voters realize the stakes are high, but there's just such a sense of frustration. i don't think this is that. we have been here in pennsylvania -- do you remember how often we were here in the 2008 election?

the big state. will he be able to get it or not? endless live shots about it. ten points. only the economy. all on the economy. do you remember? so given where the economy is today, it should not be surprising that the people that decided last minute to swing to him are really disillusioned with the democratic party. >> another key piece of the constituency, african-americans. more in eastern philadelphia an some in the west. i want to show you pictures of braddock, pennsylvania. to say it is on hard times is a dramatic understatement. this is braddock, pennsylvania. it's lost 90%, 90% of the population since the collapse of the steel industry and in january the major employer the university of pittsburgh medical center closed the braddock branch. the population is tiny. predominantly african-american. listen to keisha sails here saying the politicians in her

view simply just don't give a damn about people like her. >> these people come from good homes or good backgrounds or had houses and land and property and was able to do the things they wanted to do. you know? but they don't care. they really don't care. so, i think that's why the people around here are like, i'm just going to do me. i'm going to live my life and that's it. you know? nobody else matters. >> just disengaged. >> it's a voter and hearing this a lot from voters that essentially washington is irrelevant to their lives. >> smart people, too. >> right. >> they think it doesn't matter. >> right. and they believe that everyone in washington is terrible. not just democrats but both parties have disappointed them. why should they care? >> not just disengaged. it's that they're disappointed and that's something that's very real that we are seeing. you saw that there. i saw that in pennsylvania and

another states, as well. just when people think that things will get better and had so much hope, things are getting worse. >> we need to call a time-out for tonight. guess what? this is a road trip. ohio tomorrow. the ladies with us heading west into ohio. another big state. when i come back, maybe i'll give them with a lifeline for something. pete dominic on the street with questions for me. really save y car insurance? a bd in the hd worth 2 inhe bush? praiser: well you rarely see them in this good of shape. appraiser: for example the fingers are perfect. appraiser: the bird is in mint condition. appraiser: and i would say if this were to go to auction today, woman: really? appraiser: conrvativy it would be worth 2 in the bush. praiser: it's just biful, thank u so much for brinit i woman: unbelievable appraiser: conrvativy it would be worth 2 in the bush. anncr: geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more. ♪ [ male announcer ] ever have morning pain slow you down? introducing bayer am, an extra strength pain reliever

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couple minutes away from the top of the hour and "rick's list" prime time. hey, rick. >> we, too, are following a lot of political stories tonight, john. there's a bizarre story takes place right now in san francisco. it's a man that they've dubbed "spiderman" and almost at the very top of a high-rise building. it's a 58-story skyscraper. you are watching live pictures as police waiting for him on the roof saying this guy's done it before. we're watching this. we are going to let it play out and bring you the very latest on the story as it happens. john, back over to you.

now it's my turn to answer some questions and instead of asking them. pete dominic, he is out and got some for me. hey there, pete. >> good evening, john king. a lot of roethlisberger jerseys railroad not after the controversy? what have we seen? >> we did see a lot of steelers jerseys today. some big ben and a lot of black and gold in this town, pete. but you know, he has his fans here, more fans than detractors. we'll see how it plays out. politics, come on. >> labor day, what does it mean? is china celebrating our jobs? >> labor day is a celebration of just that, the american worker. of course, organized labor, union workers staged big parades and all workers should celebrate. it is a tough day with 9.6% unemployment and a tough economy, obviously. so while it's a celebration nu